Consumers won a dramatic victory in the battle over unfair bank charges last week.

A High Court judge confirmed what bank charges campaigners have been arguing for two years; that the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) can rule on the fairness of the charges.

What happens next?

The next step is for the OFT to assess whether they are actually unfair but, as it's the one that took the banks to court, that seems likely. Then it'll try to reach an agreement with the banks, and if not, go back to court.

On May 22, there will be a meeting where the banks may appeal. Until then, all cases remain on hold, though you should still submit your claim even though the banks don’t have to deal with them.

And as you can only claim back six years' worth of charges in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, (it's five in Scotland) the longer you leave it, the less far back your reclaim goes. Plus, if the reclaiming can start again, it means you'll be ahead in the queue.

Read the full up-to-date details in Martin's Bank Charges News article.

Free templates to put your claim in are included in Martin's step-by-step Bank Charges guide.